EDAP

The Affordable Housing Trust

Emerging Developers Accelerator Program

“As we know, our community is facing a housing crisis. With any complicated economic problem, we must attack it from both demand side and supply side. This program is focused on supply side—bringing emerging developers, particularly women and people of color, into the pipeline. As we increase the number of developers, we also increase the number of housing units we bring online. Typically, women and people of color get left behind when economic booms like Intel happen, but we are ensuring that sustainable and meaningful change starts right here, right now.”

~Lark T. Mallory, AHT President and CEO

The Emerging Developers Accelerator Program (EDAP) is AHT’s minority developer cultivation and training program designed to create pathways to development careers for groups who have historically faced barriers. Created to address the lack of affordable housing and the challenges faced by minorities entering the real estate development ecosystem, the program prepares participants to develop affordable housing by providing learning sessions, technical assistance, consulting and ultimately access to capital.

The EDAP consists of the following three elements.

Technical assistance: Participants will receive technical assistance through a six-month educational course covering all aspects of affordable housing development, including:

Project legal structuring
Project feasibility, affordability and market analysis
Site selection and acquisition
Project proforma and financing
Project management

Access to capital: Upon successful completion of the program, participants can apply for loans to build affordable housing through AHT.

Ongoing consulting: Participants will benefit from ongoing consulting with industry experts throughout the development process.

During the final learning session, participants will create a comprehensive development project plan. Each participant will present this final project proposal for funding under AHT guidelines.

Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will have access to funding and ongoing consulting. Projects will be evaluated by AHT underwriting standards and funded via AHT low interest rate loans, plus potential investment from an equity fund if all criteria for financing and affordability have been met.

The ultimate goal is to increase the number of affordable housing units by engaging more underrepresented developers, particularly women and developers of color. In doing so, we will help reduce socioeconomic inequities by increasing the financial capacity of emerging developers engaged in projects that transform neighborhoods in Columbus and Franklin County. We will also continue to bring more affordable units online, thus furthering the mission of AHT.